Expert systems recommendations accessing consumer account information and product supplier data

ABSTRACT

A product recommendation expert system including a server; at least one consumer computer that is linked, via a distributed network, to the server; and at least one management computer that is linked, via a distributed network, to the server; wherein the server includes at least some of a product profile database for storing and/or updating product information for a plurality of products, a criteria database for storing and/or updating evaluation criteria by which a product is evaluated, and at least one first consumer profile database for storing and/or updating consumer profile information for a plurality of consumers; and at least one second consumer profile database, wherein the second consumer profile database contains at least some previously stored, supplemental consumer profile information, wherein the supplemental consumer profile information includes at least some consumer profile information that is different from the consumer profile information in the first consumer profile database.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of co-pending U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 13/413,340, filed Mar. 6, 2012, U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 10/459,956, filed Jun. 12, 2003, now U.S. Pat. No.8,155,577, and U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/389,867, filedJun. 19, 2002, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein byreference in their entireties.

STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

Not Applicable.

REFERENCE TO SEQUENCE LISTING, A TABLE, OR A COMPUTER PROGRAM LISTINGCOMPACT DISC APPENDIX

Not Applicable.

NOTICE OF COPYRIGHTED MATERIAL

The disclosure of this patent document contains material that is subjectto copyright protection. The copyright owner has no objection to thereproduction by anyone of the patent document or the patent disclosure,as it appears in the Patent and Trademark Office patent file or records,but otherwise reserves all copyright rights whatsoever. Unless otherwisenoted, all trademarks and service marks identified herein are owned bythe applicant.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention

This invention relates generally to the field of providing productrecommendations to specific individual consumers based on a consumer'sprofile information and product evaluation information.

2. Description of Related Art

When a consumer purchases an item on the Internet, it is generally knownfor the seller to suggest one or more additional products to theconsumer, based on correlations to what other buyers, purchasing thesame item have also purchased.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Related art has inherent limitations, in that all product (or service)options do not compete on level playing field; recommendations arehighly based on consumer-to-consumer compatibility and productpopularity as inferred by multi-user ratings. Prior methods processhistorical data indicative of the users' affinities for particular itemsto identify correlations between interests of users “(e.g. items A and Bare similar because a large portion of those who selected A alsoselected B).” Prior art relates to methods for predicting the interestsof individual users based on the known interests of a community ofusers.

Further, related art implements the “law of averages,” in essence“follow the herd” mentality, to reach “common ground;” more specificallyassociative relationships between multiple users, rather than focus onthe specific individual consumer. Therefore, prior art does not allowfor “optimally individualized” outcomes, as opposed to expert systems,which result in customized “consumer reports” and/or “personalshoppers,” employing in-house/industry authority/consultant, and ortrusted source, rather than incorporating community collaboration. Infact, preparing and priming the expert system do not require anyshopping, rather operating only on access to consumer and product (orservice) profiles; expert systems provide one-on-one direct userinterface and private interaction with results on the very first user.Finally, this invention proposes user-to-product ranking/scale/score“Best-Fit” (BF) “Recommendation Suitability” (RS), rather than“Commonality Index (CI),” which indicates relatedness of one item to theother, based on sales of the respective items.

The systems and methods of this invention utilize a productrecommendation expert system, which provides consumers with productrecommendations based upon the consumer's profile information and expertproduct evaluation information. The features of this invention maintainand/or consolidate consumer information, such as, for example, profiles,reports, and scores in one integrated and interactive personal datamanagement system.

This invention applies “causal theory,” as opposed to traditionalcorrelative techniques, to provide, product (or service) suggestionsand/or recommendations, customized for the specific individual consumer.Causation requires decision expertise, such as feedback loops andfiltering relationships, as per the efficiency and/or effectiveness ofparticular product parameters, that is, attributes and benefits withrespect to the evaluation information. Conversely, correlation relies onhistorical information, such as previous product (or service) purchasesand user ratings, through collaborative filtering by community of users.

This invention is based on expert-systems' assessment through biased andqualitative understanding of the specific individual consumer.Conversely, prior related art provides suggestions through unbiased andquantitative analyses of the user populations; recommendations arelikely items previously selected by the user, either viewed, purchased,or placed in an “electronic shopping cart.” Item-to-item mappingsperiodically analyze user history to identify correlations betweenpurchases among current and/or recent user's (i) purchase histories,(ii) item ratings, (iii) contents of the personal shopping cart(s), (iv)items removed from personal shopping cart(s).

In various exemplary embodiments, the systems and methods of thisinvention facilitate the selection and purchase of specific resources,products, goods, or services. In other exemplary embodiments, thesystems and methods of this invention may be utilized by third partiesor other consumers (i.e., friends, family, etc.) to select specificresources, products, goods, or services for someone else, anotherconsumer. These systems and methods provide consumers withrecommendations specifically tailored to each individual consumer,thereby reducing time and labor-intensive research required to identifyand/or purchase an appropriate resource, product, good, or service.

In certain exemplary, nonlimiting embodiments, the profiling featurepresents a consumer with a series of questions regarding the consumer,some optional and some necessary, to be completed by the consumer. Thequestions and responses are effectively weighted based on predeterminedfactors, such that information that is more relevant to, for example,suggesting an appropriate product for the consumer (such as questionsregarding the consumer's special needs or health and fitness level) aregiven greater weight than personal identification information (such asthe consumer's name and mailing address).

In certain exemplary, non-limiting embodiments, the profiling featureallows a consumer to identify locations of data specific to theconsumer, so that that data can be accessed, analyzed, and used toautomatically populate the consumer's profile. A consumer may indicatethat the consumer has one or more accounts with third party onlinesocial networks or online marketplace platforms, such as: a Facebookaccount, a Twitter account, an eBay account, an Amazon.com account, aLinkedIn account, a MySpace account, and a Match.com account (Facebook,Twitter, eBay, Amazon.com, LinkedIn, My Space, and Match.com aretrademarks of their respective owners and are not trademarks of theapplicant). The systems and methods of this invention are then givenaccess to those accounts so as to be able to mine data in those accountsto create the consumer's profile. For example, the consumer's Facebookprofile may include the consumer's birthday and current address; theMatch.com profile may include the consumer's favorite color, a list ofthe consumer's hobbies and interests, and a list of the consumer'sfavorite movies and novels; the Amazon.com account may include (throughthe consumer's prior purchase history) information regarding theconsumer's shirt, pants, and shoe sizes.

When the specific consumer information is retrieved (whether received asa direct input from the consumer or based on mining of data from otherconsumer accounts and/or profiles), the information is used to create aspecific consumer profile, which is then stored in a database and usedto select products that are particularly suited to the specificconsumer. If certain pieces of profile information are not available inpre-existing accounts and/or profiles, that supplemental information canbe requested from the consumer.

Because the systems and methods of this invention are able to beaccessed and utilized over a network, such as, for example, theInternet, consumers also have a community outreach feature, which allowsthem to communicate with other consumers via e-mail and messaging, andthrough public and private chat rooms and/or clubs. Consumers or groupsof consumers may, for example, participate in polls, learn importantfactual points, discuss their impressions of products, and/or receivefeedback from sponsors, manufacturers, or other parties.

The reporting feature provides a series of reports for each consumer. Aconsumer may download documents for printing and submission to, forexample, suppliers, retailers, or other consumers.

According to certain exemplary, nonlimiting embodiments of thisinvention, if a consumer's age, gender, physical characteristics,interests, skill level, known learning disabilities, and otherpreferences are provided, the systems and methods of this invention mayweigh the age, gender, physical characteristics, interests, and skilllevel information more heavily than the known learning disabilities andother preferences information for a given product. The specific consumerprofile is then used to match the consumer to recommended products (alsoweighted to the specific consumer profile information) for thatconsumer, based on the specific consumer profile and expert productevaluation. This virtually eliminates the need for the consumer toperform complex analysis of the consumer against the various availableproducts.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

As required, detailed embodiments of the present invention are disclosedherein; however, it is to be understood that the disclosed embodimentsare merely exemplary of the invention that may be embodied in variousand alternative forms. The figures are not necessarily to scale; somefeatures may be exaggerated or minimized to show details of particularcomponents. Therefore, specific structural and functional detailsdisclosed herein are not to be interpreted as limiting, but merely as abasis for the claims and as a representative basis for teaching oneskilled in the art to employ the present invention.

The exemplary embodiments of this invention will be described in detail,with reference to the following figures, wherein like reference numeralsrefer to like parts throughout the several views, and wherein:

FIG. 1 shows a functional block diagram outlining a first exemplaryembodiment of a product recommendation expert system according to thisinvention;

FIG. 2 shows a flowchart outlining one exemplary embodiment of a methodfor creating a consumer profile, according to this invention;

FIG. 3 shows a flowchart outlining one exemplary embodiment of a methodfor recommending products in a specific category, based on a specificconsumer profile, according to this invention; and

FIG. 4 shows one exemplary format of a template for displayingassignment data, in a predetermined format.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

For simplicity and clarification, the operating principles, designfactors, and layout of the product recommendation systems and methods,according to this invention, are explained with reference to variousexemplary embodiments of the product recommendation systems and methods,according to this invention. The basic explanation of the operation ofthe product recommendation systems and methods is applicable for theunderstanding and design of the constituent components and stepsemployed in the product recommendation systems and methods according tothis invention.

Furthermore, it should be understood that, although the variousexemplary embodiments described herein are described with reference toproduct expert recommendation systems and methods, this is merely forsimplicity and clarification of the systems and methods of thisinvention. Therefore, it will be apparent to one of ordinary skill inthe art that the systems and methods described herein are not to beconstrued as limited to a particular resource, product, good, orservice, but can be used in conjunction with any resources, products,goods, or services and are not limited to any particular field ofinterest. For example, the method for recommending products based on aspecific consumer profile may be used to recommend any resource,product, good, or service to a consumer based on a specific consumerprofile and/or product parameter.

It should also be appreciated that the terms “resources”, “products”,“goods”, and “services” are used for basic explanation and understandingof the operation of the systems, methods, and apparatuses of thisinvention. Therefore, it should be understood that the terms“resources”, “products”, “goods”, and “services” can be usedinterchangeably and are not to be construed as limiting the systems,methods, apparatuses, and/or applications of this invention.

Turning now to the drawing figures, FIG. 1 is a functional block diagramoutlining a first exemplary embodiment of a product recommendationsystem 100 according to this invention. As shown in FIG. 1, the productrecommendation system 100 includes at least some of at least oneconsumer computer 110, a management computer 115, and a server 120. Invarious exemplary embodiments, the product recommendation system 100includes a plurality of consumer computers 110. Each consumer computer110 is linked, either directly or indirectly, to a distributed network105, and, in turn, to the server 120. The management computer 115 isalso linked, either directly or indirectly, to the distributed network105, and, in turn, to the server 120.

In various exemplary embodiments, the distributed network 105 is, forexample, an intranet, an extranet, the Internet and, more particularly,the World Wide Web portion of the Internet, a Local Area Network (LAN),a Wide Area Network (WAN), or any other presently known or laterdeveloped distributed network. It should be appreciated that, in variousexemplary embodiments, the distributed network 105 may be, for example,a particular node, such as, for example, a specific web page, of alarger distributed network.

In various exemplary embodiments, each of the consumer computers 110 andthe management computer 115, is typically a personal computer, such as aWindows-based workstation, having a memory containing communicationssoftware and some form of Internet connectivity, such as a modem, a T-1line, an Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN) line, or the like.The communications software may be any software suitable fortelecommunications, and preferably includes Internet browser software.The Internet connector may be used with the communications software forcommunication, via the distributed network 105, to the server 120, anyother consumer computer 110, and/or the management computer 115.

It should be understood that at least one of the consumer computers 110may be a commercially available “Web-TV” device, such as those currentlyavailable from Phillips Electronics, Magnavox, and Sony Corporation.Alternatively, at least one of the consumer computers 110 may be aNetwork Computer, a smart phone, a tablet, a personal digital assistant(PDA), a handheld organizer, or a similar or hybrid electronic device.

In various exemplary embodiments, each of the consumer computers 110also includes a display 112 and one or more input devices 114. Invarious exemplary embodiments, the display 112 may be a cathode ray tubedisplay, a liquid crystal display, or any other known or later developedsystem capable of displaying data. The one or more input devices 114 maybe one or more of a keyboard, a mouse, a touch screen, a touch pad, astylus, a microphone, a camera, or any other known or later developeddevice capable of inputting data into the consumer computer 110.

It should be appreciated that the management computer 115 may includeany or all of the features of the consumer computer 110. However, themanagement computer 115 is not limited to the features included in anyof the consumer computers 110.

In various exemplary embodiments, the server 120 is a programmed networkserver, and, more specifically, a server that supports a HyperTextTransfer Protocol (http). The server 120 is capable of maintainingprofile records, feedback documents and data, report documents and data,and consumer and/or consumer information, and other information, andtransmitting such data and information, via the network 105, to anappropriate consumer computer 110 or the management computer 115. Manysuitable software programs for interfacing the server 120 with thenetwork 105 exist, including, for example, Netscape, Apache, MicrosoftIIS, and O'Reilly.

It should be appreciated that the server 120 and/or the managementcomputer 115 utilize sufficient security methods to ensure safe storageand integrity of data, documents, and information.

The server 120 is connected, via one or more linked connections, to atleast some of a product profile database 130, an expert database 140, aconsumer profile database 150, and a recommendation database 160.

The product profile database 130 includes various suitable softwareprograms and memory for storing and/or updating a plurality of productprofile records. In various exemplary embodiments, the product profilerecords contained within the product profile database 130 comprise bothstatic, objective product information and subjective, product evaluationinformation regarding each of a plurality of products.

In various exemplary embodiments, the objective product informationincludes, but is not limited to, each product's name or title, technicalspecifications, size or dimension, manufacturer, distributor, supplier,price, compatibility or equipment requirements (such as computer memory,input device, or operating system compatibility for computer softwareproducts), availability, and the like. The objective product informationmay also include a technical description of the product and certainproduct keywords.

It should be appreciated that the type and level of objective productinformation in the product profile database 130 may vary and may beupdated periodically, as appropriate or necessary. The objective productinformation is typically updated by the product's manufacturer,supplier, or distributor.

In various exemplary embodiments, the product evaluation informationincludes, for example, more subjective information regarding eachindividual product, such as, for example, whether the product has aparticular religious orientation or contains religious content, and ifso, what religion, whether the product is suitable for consumers withparticular physical, mental, or emotional handicaps, and if so, whathandicaps, whether the product is suitable for consumers with remedial,average, or advanced learning abilities, whether the product requiresthat the consumer be able to read, whether the product is more suitedfor an institutional or a home setting, whether the product is suitedfor a consumer following a self-paced consumption, whether the productis considered interactive, an evaluation of the consumer style supportedby the product, and the like.

In various exemplary embodiments, the product evaluation informationincludes, for example, answers to at least some of the productevaluation questions shown below in TABLE I. It should be appreciatedthat the product evaluation questions, as listed in TABLE I, are merelyexemplary, and are not intended to be an exhaustive list of possiblequestions. Specific product evaluation questions may be created ordeleted based on a particular application.

TABLE I What is the product category? (i.e., Electronic, Hardware,Health & Fitness, Software, or Other) What age, if any, does the producttarget? What state/region does the product target? What gender does theproduct target? This product is appropriate for the consumers in whichenvironments? (i.e., Home, Institution, Private, or Public) What is theformat of the primary product? (i.e., Audio Cassette, Audio CD, ComputerCD-ROM, Computer Floppy Disk, DVD Player, or Paper/Book, VCR) What isthe format of the supplemental components? (i.e., Audio Cassette, AudioCD, Computer CD-ROM, Computer Floppy Disk, DVD Player, or Paper/Book,VCR) What consumer capability does the product target? (i.e., Advanced,Moderate, or Remedial) Does the product require consumers to beself-paced? Does the product require use of a computer keyboard? Doesthe product require use of a computer mouse? What proficiency level doesthe product require relative to that of age level? (i.e., Low, Medium,or High) Is the product interactive? Is the product competitive? Is theproduct specifically beneficial for consumers with disabilities? (i.e.,Attention Deficit, Auditory, Muscle Control, Visual, or Other) Whatstyle does the product target? (i.e., Demonstration/Example,Discovery/Exploratory, Hands-on/Manipulative, or Rote-Learning/Skill-Based) Is the product not recommended for consumers with disabilities?(i.e., Attention Deficit, Auditory, Muscle Control, Visual, or Other)Does the product contain content specifically appropriate for consumerswith religious orientations? (i.e., Christian, Jewish, Muslim, or Other)Does the product contain content specifically inappropriate forconsumers with religious orientations? (i.e., Christian, Jewish, Muslim,or Other) Is the product entirely computer-based? Is the productenhanced with a computer? What operating system is the productcompatible with? (i.e., Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows 2000, WindowsME, Windows NT, Mac 8x, or Mac 9x) Does the product require Internetaccess? (i.e., Dial-Up Access, High Speed, or No Access) If the productrequires Internet access, what services does it provide? (i.e., Chat,Instruction, Performance, Training, or Support)

It should be appreciated that the type and level of product evaluationinformation in the product profile database 130 may also vary, and istypically updated in accordance with the systems and methods of thisinvention.

It should also be appreciated that specific information may beclassified as objective product information, product evaluationinformation, or both, and the classification of a specific piece ofinformation as objective product information, product evaluationinformation, or both may vary based on, for example, the specificapplication for which the product is being evaluated, or the level orreliability of information provided by a manufacturer or supplier.

The expert database 140 includes various suitable software programs andmemory for storing and/or updating criteria by which a product isevaluated by the systems and methods of this invention. For example, theexpert database 140 may include information as to whether products orservices should be evaluated for specific content, are included on apreferred supplier list, are well suited for a consumer with an advancedability, are usable in a home setting, are for a consumer following aself-paced consumption, and the like.

The consumer profile database 150 includes various suitable softwareprograms and memory for storing and/or updating a plurality of consumerprofile records or consumer profile information. In various exemplaryembodiments, the consumer profile records contained by the consumerprofile database 150 comprise both consumer personal information andconsumer performance information for each of a plurality of consumers.In various exemplary embodiments, the consumer personal informationincludes, for example, answers to at least some of the consumerquestions shown below in TABLE II. It should be appreciated that theconsumer questions, as listed in TABLE II, are merely exemplary, and arenot intended to be an exhaustive list of possible questions. Specificconsumer questions may be created or deleted based on a particularproduct expert system application.

However, it should be appreciated that the type and level of consumerpersonal information in the consumer profile database 150 may vary andmay be updated periodically, as appropriate or necessary. The consumerpersonal information is typically updated by the consumer.

TABLE II What is the consumer's age? What is the consumer's date ofbirth? What is the consumer's gender? What are the consumer's interestsand activities? (i.e., Crafts, Music, Sports, etc.) What is theconsumer's grade? What is the consumer's spouse's name? What is theconsumer's Employer's name? Employer City or Town? Employer State andCountry? Which product category are of interest? (i.e., Electronic,Hardware, Health & Fitness, Health & Fitness, Software, or Other, etc.)What is the consumer's environment? (i.e., Home, Institution, Private,or Public) Do you have a computer for consumer use? If yes, whatoperating system is the computer running? (i.e., Windows 95, Windows 98,Windows 2000, Windows Me, Windows NT, Mac 8x, Mac 9x, Mac 10, Linux,etc.) In what year was the computer new? If you have a computer, on ascale of 1 to 5, do you have access to the Internet? If yes, are youinterested in online services? (i.e., Chat, Instruction, Performance,Training, or Support, etc.) Which of the following equipment do youhave? (i.e., Audio Cassette, Audio CD, Computer CD-ROM, Computer FloppyDisk, DVD Player, VCR, etc.) How would you characterize consumer'scapability relative to his/her age level? (i.e., Advanced, Moderate, orRemedial) How would you characterize consumer's reading of Englishrelative to his/her age? Is the consumer primarily self-paced? On ascale of 1 to 5 - Does the consumer have basic keyboarding skills? On ascale of 1 to 5 - Can the consumer navigate a computer screen with amouse? On a scale of 1 to 5 - Does the consumer prefer interactivity inthe learning environment? On a scale of 1 to 5 - Does the consumer workbest in a competitive situation, like a video game? Which of thefollowing product formats does the consumer prefer? (i.e., AudioCassette, Computer CD-ROM, DVD Player, Reader, Textbook, Video,Workbook, etc.) For product category 1, which styles does the consumerprefer? (i.e., Demonstration/Example, Discovery/Exploratory,Hands-on/Manipulative, Rote-Learning/Skill-Based, etc.) For productcategory 2, which styles does the consumer prefer? (i.e.,Demonstration/Example, Discovery/Exploratory, Hands-on/Manipulative,Rote-Learning/Skill-Based, etc.) For product category 2, which learningstyles does the consumer prefer? (i.e., Informational,Rote-Learning/Skill-Based, etc.) For product category 4, which learningstyles does the consumer prefer? (i.e., Auditory/Phonetic orVisual/Sight-Based) For product category 5, which learning styles do theconsumer prefer? (i.e., Context/Literature-Based orRote-Learning/Skill-Based) Does the consumer have any of the followingchallenges? (i.e., Attention Deficit, Auditory, Muscle Control, Visual,etc.) On a scale from 1 to 5 - Is it important that the productmaterials have an explicit religious orientation? If it is important,what is your requested religious orientation? (i.e., Christian, Jewish,Muslim, etc.)

In various exemplary embodiments, the consumer personal informationincludes, for example, each consumer's individual performanceinformation, report documents and data (such as scores or a consumer'soverall rating in a particular product category), and the like. Itshould be appreciated that the type and level of consumer performanceinformation in the consumer profile database 150 may also vary, and istypically updated more frequently than the consumer personalinformation. The consumer performance information is typically updatedby the systems and methods of this invention and is capable of beingtransmitted to, for example, the consumer's computer 110 for display.

It should be appreciated that the consumer personal information in theconsumer profile database 150 and the product information in the productprofile database 130 contain similar types of information, such that thecharacteristics of the products may be matched to the characteristics ofthe consumer.

The recommendation database 160 includes various suitable softwareprograms and memory for assessing a consumer's personal and/orperformance information and developing and/or updating an individualconsumer product based on the consumer's personal and/or performanceinformation. The recommendation database 160 may also contain templatesfor displaying personal information, such as assignment data, in apredetermined format. An example of one exemplary format is shown inFIG. 4.

It should be appreciated that the information, such as personal orperformance information may be displayed electronically or reduced to aprinted format.

As shown in FIG. 1, the product profile database 130, the expertdatabase 140, the consumer profile database 150, the recommendationdatabase 160, or any other accessible database (not shown) may beimplemented, individually, separately, or as complimentary components,using any appropriate combination of alterable, volatile, non-volatile,non-alterable, or fixed-memory. The alterable memory, whether volatileor non-volatile, can be implemented using any one or more ofnon-selectable or performance RAM, a floppy disk and disk drive, awritable or rewriteable optical disk and disk drive, a hard drive, flashmemory or the like. Similarly, the non-alterable or fixed-memory can beimplemented using any one or more of ROM, PROM, EPROM, EEPROM, anoptical ROM disk, such as a CD ROM or DVD ROM disk, and disk drive orthe like.

In various exemplary embodiments, the product profile database 130, theexpert database 140, the consumer profile database 150, therecommendation database 160, or any other accessible database (notshown) store software and data used by the product recommendation system100. The server 120 manages reading data from and writing data to theproduct profile database 130, the expert database 140, the consumerprofile database 150, the recommendation database 160, or any otheraccessible database (not shown). The server 120 also drives thetransmission of data to and the reception of data from each of theconsumer computers 110 and the management computer 115.

Thus, in various exemplary embodiments, each of the consumer computers110 and the management computer 115 is able to access, store, retrieve,and process information from any one or more of the product profiledatabase 130, the expert database 140, the consumer profile database150, the recommendation database 160, the distributed network 105, orany other accessible database (not shown). In this manner, it is notessential that any particular information be stored in the productprofile database 130, the expert database 140, the consumer profiledatabase 150, or the recommendation database 160. Alternatively, thisinformation can be stored in, for example, management computer 115, theserver 120, and/or the distributed network 105.

In various exemplary embodiments, the product recommendation expertsystem 100 will include software executing on the server 120. It shouldbe appreciated that any other known or later developed system capable ofprocessing and outputting data could be used in place of the server 120.

In the various exemplary embodiments described herein, each of theconsumer computers 110, the management computer 115, the server 120interface, for example, with the network 105, via a linked connection.Likewise, the product profile database 130, the expert database 140, theconsumer profile database 150, and the recommendation database 160interface, for example, with the network 105, via a linked connection.

The linked connections may be any known or later developed device orsystem for connecting any of the consumer computers 110, the managementcomputer 115, the server 120, the product profile database 130, theexpert database 140, the consumer profile database 150, therecommendation database 160, and/or the network 105, including a directwired connection, a connection over a LAN, a WAN, or any otherdistributed network, a connection over the public switched telephonenetwork, a connection over a coaxial cable (i.e., CATV) system, aconnection over a cellular telephone network, a satellite connection orthe like. In general, the linked connections may be any known or laterdeveloped connection system or structure usable to connect any of theconsumer computers 110, the management computer 115, the server 120, theproduct profile database 130, the expert database 140, the consumerprofile database 150, the recommendation database 160, and/or thenetwork 105, including both wired and wireless connections.

FIG. 2 shows a flowchart outlining one exemplary embodiment of a methodfor creating a consumer profile, according to this invention.

As shown in FIG. 2, beginning in step S200, the method begins andcontrol continues to step S205, wherein at least some initialinformation is received from a consumer. The initial information mayonly include information regarding the consumer's name and informationsufficient to allow the systems and methods of the present invention toaccess locations where pre-existing information regarding the consumeris stored are located. In certain exemplary embodiments, this initialinformation may include username and password or other accessinformation to allow the systems and methods of the present invention toaccess and mine data from, for example, the consumer's Facebook account,Twitter account, eBay account, Amazon.com account, LinkedIn account,MySpace account, Match.com account, and the like.

Then, in step S210, the systems and methods of the present inventionaccess the pre-existing information in the Facebook account, Twitteraccount, eBay account, Amazon.com account, LinkedIn account, MySpaceaccount, Match.com account, or other accounts provided in the initialinformation. Control then continues to step S215.

In step S215, the pre-existing information is retrieved. Control thencontinues to step S220, where the pre-existing information is combinedwith the initial information to create a consumer profile.

Then, in step S225, a determination is made as to whether any additionalinformation is needed for the consumer profile. In certain exemplaryembodiments, the additional information includes information that couldnot be obtained from any of the identified consumer accounts. In variousexemplary embodiments, this determination is made when the consumerselects a particular category or product to search. For example, untilthe consumer attempts to search for a pair of shoes, the consumerprofile may not include or need to include information regarding thecustomer's shoe size.

If, in step S225 it is determined that additional information is neededfor the consumer profile, control advances to step S230 and supplementalconsumer information is requested from the consumer. Control thenadvances to step S235 and the supplemental consumer information isreceived from the consumer. Next, in step S240, the supplementalconsumer information is added to the consumer profile to update theconsumer profile.

Otherwise, if it is determined, in step S225, that additionalinformation is not needed for the consumer profile, control jumps tostep S245 and the method ends.

FIG. 3 shows a flowchart outlining one exemplary embodiment of a methodfor recommending products in a specific category, based on a specificconsumer profile, according to this invention.

As shown in FIG. 3, beginning in step S300, the method begins andcontrol continues to step S305, wherein a specific category is selected.Then, in step S310, all offered products are selected, regardless of thespecific category selected. Control then continues to step S315.

In step S315, all of the products that are offered, which do not matchthe category selected, are removed from the list of selected offeredproducts. Control then continues to step S320, where all of theremaining selected offered products that require equipment for use ofthe product that the consumer does not have access to (except forcomputer based products) are removed from the list of selected offeredproducts. In various exemplary embodiments, information regarding theequipment that the consumer has access to is stored as specific consumerprofile information in the consumer profile database 150.

Then, in step S325, a determination is made as to whether the consumerdesires that the offered products include one or more specificcharacteristics. This may be accomplished, for example, by accessinginformation regarding the consumer's other preferences, if included inthe specific consumer profile information stored in the consumer profiledatabase 150.

If, in step S325 it is determined that the consumer desires that theoffered products include one or more specific characteristics, controladvances to step S330 and all of the products that are offered, which donot include the one or more specific characteristics, are removed fromthe list of selected offered products. This may be accomplished, forexample, by accessing information regarding each product's specificcontent, as included in the objective product information or the productevaluation information stored in the product profile database 130 andcomparing that information to the information included in the specificconsumer profile information stored in the consumer profile database150.

Otherwise, if it is determined, in step S325, that the consumer does notdesire that the offered products include one or more specificcharacteristics, control jumps to step S335.

In step S335, a determination is made as to whether the consumer'sprofile renders the consumer incompatible with any of the products. Thismay be accomplished, for example, by accessing information regarding theconsumer in the specific consumer profile information stored in theconsumer profile database 150. It should be appreciated thatincompatibility of a consumer to a product may be determined to be amental, physical, preferential, geographic, or other incompatibility.

If, in step S335 it is determined that there is an incompatibilitybetween the consumer and a product, control advances to step S340 andall of the products that are offered, which are incompatible with theconsumer are removed from the list of selected offered products. Thismay be accomplished by accessing each product's objective productinformation or product evaluation information stored in the productprofile database 130 and comparing that information to the informationincluded in the specific consumer profile information stored in theconsumer profile database 150.

Otherwise, if it is determined, in step S335, that none of the productsare incompatible with the consumer, control jumps to step S345.

In step S345, all products that are designated to be a predeterminednumber of levels above the consumer's level, for example, the consumer'slevel plus 3 levels, are removed from the list of selected offeredproducts. Then, in step S350, all products that are designated to be apredetermined number of levels below the consumer's level, for example,the consumer's level minus 3 levels, are removed from the list ofselected offered products.

Then, in step S355, all offered products that are computer-basedproducts, which require equipment not accessible by consumers (i.e., Macbased products for consumers with Windows based computers), are removedfrom the list of selected offered products.

Control then continues to step S360 and points are added to orsubtracted from a product recommendation value for each of the remainingselected offered products. The points are added to or subtracted fromeach remaining product's product recommendation value based onpredetermined criteria. These criteria are stored in the expert database140, as described above, with reference to FIG. 1. In various exemplaryembodiments, the predetermined criteria and the number of points to beadded or subtracted for each predetermined criteria are as listed belowin TABLE III. However, it should be appreciated that the predeterminedcriteria and the number of points to be added or subtracted for eachpredetermined criteria, as listed in TABLE III, are merely exemplary,and are not intended to be an exhaustive list of criteria. Specificpredetermined criteria and associated point values may be created ordeleted based on the particular expert system application.

When a final product recommendation value has been calculated for eachof the remaining selected offered products, control continues to stepS365.

TABLE III Add points to each product from a preferred supplier list Addpoints if product level matches consumers Add points if product level isabove consumers level Add points if computer based product and consumerhas computer Add points if product and consumer match operating systemAdd points if product and consumer are both ′remedial′ Add points ifproduct and consumer are both ′advanced′ ability Add points if productand consumer environment match Add points if product is computer basedand consumer computer is less than 2 years old Add points if product isinternet based and consumer has any internet access Add points ifproduct is internet based and consumer has connection above 56k internetaccess Add points if product and consumer match online service Addpoints if product does not require the consumer to read and consumer haslow ability Subtract points if product requires the consumer to read andconsumer has low ability Add points if match for self-pace or subtract20 points if product not a match Add points if match for keyboard orsubtract 20 points if product not a match Add points if match for mouseor subtract 20 points if product not a match Add points if match forinteractive or subtract 20 points if product not a match Add points ifmatch for compete or subtract 20 points if product not a match Addpoints if match for style or subtract 50 points if product not a matchAdd points if consumer is remedial and product level is below consumerAdd points if consumer is advanced and product level is above consumer

In step S365, the remaining selected offered products are sorted bytheir final product recommendation value, such that the product orproducts with the highest final product recommendation value are rankedabove the product or products with the lowest final productrecommendation value. In various exemplary embodiments, the remainingselected offered products may be sorted such that the product orproducts with the lowest final product recommendation value are rankedabove the product or products with the highest final productrecommendation value.

Then, in step S370, the sorted list of the remaining selected offeredproducts is displayed or presented to the consumer. In various exemplaryembodiments, any remaining selected offered products with a finalproduct recommendation value above a predetermined minimum value orbelow a predetermined maximum value are not included in the sorted listthat is displayed or presented to the consumer. Then, in step S375, themethod ends.

It should be appreciated that the systems and methods of this inventionmay be implemented as software executing on a programmed general-purposecomputer, a special purpose computer, a microprocessor, or the like. Invarious exemplary embodiments, the systems and methods of this inventionmay be implemented as a routine embedded in a network client, as aresource residing on a network server, or the like. The systems andmethods of this invention may also be implemented by incorporation intoa software and/or hardware system, such as the hardware or firmwaresystems of another personal digital assistant, bi directional pager,analog or digital cellular telephone, or the like.

Thus, in summary, the systems and methods of this invention may beimplemented on a programmed general purpose computer, a special purposecomputer, a programmed microprocessor or microcontroller and peripheralintegrated circuit elements, an ASIC or other integrated circuit, adigital signal processor, a hardwired electronic or logic circuit suchas a discrete element circuit, a programmable logic device such as aPLD, PLA, FPGA or PAL, or the like. In general, any device, capable ofimplementing a finite state machine that is in turn capable ofimplementing the flowchart shown in FIG. 3, can be used to implement thesystems and methods of this invention.

While this invention has been described in conjunction with theexemplary embodiments outlined above, the foregoing description ofexemplary embodiments of the invention, as set forth above, are intendedto be illustrative, not limiting and the fundamental invention shouldnot be considered to be necessarily so constrained. It is evident thatthe invention is not limited to the particular variation set forth andmany alternatives, adaptations modifications, and/or variations will beapparent to those skilled in the art. For example, the method forrecommending products in a specific category, based on a specificconsumer profile, as described herein, may be used to recommend otherproducts to consumers, based on specific consumer and product profiles.

Furthermore, where a range of values is provided, it is understood thatevery intervening value, between the upper and lower limit of that rangeand any other stated or intervening value in that stated range isencompassed within the invention. The upper and lower limits of thesesmaller ranges may independently be included in the smaller ranges andis also encompassed within the invention, subject to any specificallyexcluded limit in the stated range. Where the stated range includes oneor both of the limits, ranges excluding either or both of those includedlimits are also included in the invention.

It is to be understood that the phraseology of terminology employedherein is for the purpose of description and not of limitation. Unlessdefined otherwise, all technical and scientific terms used herein havethe same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in theart to which this invention belongs.

In addition, it is contemplated that any optional feature of theinventive variations described herein may be set forth and claimedindependently, or in combination with any one or more of the featuresdescribed herein.

Accordingly, the foregoing description of exemplary embodiments willreveal the general nature of the invention, such that others may, byapplying current knowledge, change, vary, modify, and/or adapt theseexemplary embodiments for various applications without departing fromthe spirit and scope of the invention. Any and all such changes,variations, modifications, and/or adaptations should and are intended tobe comprehended within the meaning and range of equivalents of thedisclosed exemplary embodiments and may be substituted without departingfrom the true spirit and scope of the invention.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for recommending, via a computer systemhaving a processor and a memory, one or more products or services to aconsumer, comprising the computer system performing the steps of:causing said computer system to access a product/service profile,wherein said product/service profile contains at least someproduct/service information for each product/service in saidproduct/service profile, wherein said product/service informationincludes at least some inherent product/service information and at leastsome subjective product/service evaluation information, wherein saidsubjective product/service evaluation information includes at least someinformation that is different from said inherent product/serviceinformation; causing said computer system to provide expert productevaluation information gained from an expert system's subjectiveevaluation of each product's or service's suitability for specificconsumers, wherein said expert system's subjective evaluation of eachproduct's or service's suitability for specific consumers considersobjective characteristics specific to each product or service, from saidspecific consumers, in selection of specific expert systemrecommendation, wherein said subjective product/service evaluationinformation consists of said expert product evaluation information,wherein said expert system's subjective evaluation of each product's orservice's suitability for a specific consumer is based on certainevaluation criteria by which one or more products or services are to beevaluated, and wherein said evaluation criteria by which each product orservice is evaluated is stored and/or updated in an expert database;causing said computer system to access at least one first consumerprofile, wherein said first consumer profile contains at least someconsumer profile information; causing said computer system to allow aconsumer to request, via a computer, information regarding a specificproduct/service from said product/service profile; causing said computersystem to select, via a computer processor, all products or services insaid product/service profile, regardless of said product/servicerequested by said consumer; causing said computer system to remove fromsaid selected products or services, via said computer processor, all ofsaid products or services that are not included in a similarproduct/service area with said product/service requested by saidconsumer; causing said computer system to establish an initialproduct/service recommendation value for each of said remaining selectedproducts or services based on said inherent product/service information;identifying a deficiency in said consumer profile information in said atleast one first consumer profile such that at least some additionalconsumer profile information is needed to produce a final recommendationvalue for each of said remaining selected products or services; causingsaid computer system to access, when said deficiency in said consumerprofile information is identified, at least one second consumer profile,wherein said second consumer profile comprises a pre-existing account orprofile, maintained separately from said at least one first consumerprofile, wherein said pre-existing account or profile comprises anonline social network or online marketplace platform maintained by aseparate third-party entity, which contains at least some previouslystored, supplemental consumer profile information for said specificconsumer, wherein said supplemental consumer profile informationincludes at least some consumer profile information that is differentfrom said consumer profile information in said first consumer profile;causing said computer system to retrieve, from said at least one secondconsumer profile, at least some additional consumer profile informationto supplement said identified deficiency in said consumer profileinformation in said at least one first consumer profile; causing saidcomputer system to include said additional consumer profile informationwith said consumer profile information in said first consumer profile;causing said computer system to transform said initial product/servicerecommendation value for each of said remaining selected products orservices based on a comparison of said subjective product/serviceevaluation information from said expert database and at least someconsumer profile information and/or supplemental consumer profileinformation for said specific consumer to produce said finalrecommendation value for each of said remaining selected products orservices; causing said computer system to create a ranked list of saidremaining selected products or services by ranking said remainingselected products or services by each remaining selected product's orservice's final recommendation value; causing said computer system totransform data regarding at least a portion of said ranked list of saidremaining selected products or services into at least one displayablerepresentation of said data regarding said ranked list of said remainingselected products or services; and causing said computer system todisplay at least a portion of said at least one displayablerepresentation of said data regarding said ranked list of said remainingselected products or services to said consumer.
 2. The method of claim1, wherein two or more of said product/service profile, said at leastone first consumer profile, and said at least one second consumerprofile are contained within a single database.
 3. The method of claim1, further comprising causing said computer system to remove, if saidconsumer profile information for said specific consumer indicates thatsaid specific consumer matches to products or services that containspecific content with an indicated other preference, via said computerprocessor, all of said remaining selected products or services that donot match said indicated other preference, wherein information regardingsaid indicated other preference is included in said consumer profileinformation or said supplemental consumer profile information, andwherein information regarding said specific content of eachproduct/service is included in said inherent product/service informationor said subjective product/service evaluation information.
 4. The methodof claim 1, wherein said inherent product/service information includesone or more of each product's or service's name or title, manufacturer,distributor, supplier, price, availability, at least one product/servicekeyword, and the like.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein said subjectiveevaluation of each product's or service's suitability for a specificconsumer is based on certain predetermined evaluation criteria by whichone or more products or services are to be evaluated.
 6. The method ofclaim 1, wherein at least some of said consumer profile information andat least some of said product/service information contain similar typesof information, such that at least particular parameters of saidproducts or services may be matched to at least certain characteristicsof said consumer.
 7. A product recommendation system comprising: acomputer system comprising a server or its equivalent; at least oneconsumer computer, wherein said at least one consumer computer islinked, via a distributed network, to said server; and at least onemanagement computer, wherein said at least one management computer islinked, via a distributed network, to said server; wherein said serverincludes at least some of a product profile in a database for storingand/or updating product information for a plurality of products, whereinsaid product profile contains at least some product information for eachproduct in said product profile, wherein said product informationincludes at least some inherent product information and at least somesubjective product evaluation information, wherein said subjectiveproduct evaluation information includes at least some information thatis different from said inherent product information in said productprofile; wherein said product recommendation system causes said computersystem to provide expert product evaluation information gained from anexpert system's subjective evaluation of each product's or service'ssuitability for specific consumers, wherein said expert system'ssubjective evaluation of each product's or service's suitability forspecific consumers considers objective characteristics specific to eachproduct or service in selection of specific expert systemrecommendation, wherein said expert system's subjective evaluation fromsaid specific consumers, and wherein said subjective product evaluationinformation includes said expert product evaluation information, acriteria portion of a database for storing and/or updating evaluationcriteria by which a product is evaluated; an expert portion of adatabase for storing and/or updating said expert system's subjectiveproduct evaluation information, wherein said expert system's subjectiveevaluation of each product's or service's suitability for a specificconsumer is based on certain evaluation criteria by which one or moreproducts or services are to be evaluated; at least one first consumerprofile in a database for storing and/or updating consumer profileinformation for a plurality of consumers; at least one second consumerprofile in a database, wherein said second consumer profile comprises apre-existing account or profile maintained separately from said at leastone first consumer profile, wherein said pre-existing account or profilecomprises an online social network or online marketplace platformmaintained by a separate third-party entity, which contains at leastsome previously stored, supplemental consumer profile information,wherein said supplemental consumer profile information includes at leastsome consumer profile information that is different from said consumerprofile information in said first consumer profile; and wherein saidproduct recommendation system causes said computer system to identify adeficiency in said consumer profile information; wherein said productrecommendation system causes said computer system to retrieve, from saidat least one second consumer profile, at least some additional consumerprofile information to supplement said identified deficiency in saidconsumer profile information in said at least one first consumerprofile; wherein said product recommendation system causes said computersystem to include said additional consumer profile information with saidconsumer profile information in said first consumer profile.
 8. Theproduct recommendation system of claim 7, further including a pluralityof consumer computers, wherein each consumer computer is linked, viasaid distributed network, to said server.
 9. The product recommendationsystem of claim 7, wherein said product information comprise bothinherent product information and subjective product evaluationinformation regarding each of a plurality of products.
 10. The productrecommendation system of claim 7, wherein said inherent productinformation includes one or more of each product's name or title,manufacturer, distributor, supplier, price, availability, at least oneproduct keyword, and the like.
 11. The product recommendation system ofclaim 7, wherein said subjective product evaluation information includesat least some subjective information regarding each product.
 12. Theproduct recommendation system of claim 7, wherein at least some of saidconsumer profile information and at least some of said productinformation contain similar types of information, such that at leastparticular parameters of said products may be matched to at leastcertain characteristics of said consumer.
 13. A method for providing atleast some expert product evaluation information, comprising a computersystem performing the steps of: causing said computer system to receiveat least some initial information from a consumer, wherein said initialinformation includes at least some access information for accessingpre-existing information in a pre-existing portion of a database;identifying a deficiency in said initial information from said consumer;causing, as a result of identifying a deficiency in said initialinformation, said computer system to access said pre-existinginformation in said pre-existing portion of a database using said accessinformation; causing said computer system to retrieve at least somepre-existing information from said pre-existing portion of a database tosupplement said identified deficiency in said initial information;causing said computer system to create a consumer profile using at leastsome of said initial information and at least some of said pre-existinginformation; causing said computer system to correlate said consumerprofile with at least some of a product profile, wherein said productprofile contains at least some product information for each product insaid product profile, wherein said product information includes at leastsome inherent product information and at least some subjective productevaluation information, wherein said subjective product evaluationinformation is included in an expert database and includes at least someinformation that is different from said inherent product information insaid product profile; and causing said computer system to allow anexpert system to provide expert product evaluation information gainedfrom said expert system's subjective evaluation of each product's orservice's suitability for specific consumers, wherein said expertsystem's subjective evaluation of each product's or service'ssuitability for specific consumers considers objective characteristicsspecific to each product or service in selection of specific expertsystem recommendation, wherein said subjective product evaluationinformation includes said expert product evaluation information, andwherein said subjective product evaluation information is based oncertain evaluation criteria by which one or more products or servicesare to be evaluated, and wherein said evaluation criteria by which eachproduct or service is evaluated is stored and/or updated in said expertdatabase.
 14. The method of claim 13, further comprising causing saidcomputer system to request supplemental information from said consumerand supplement said consumer profile to include said supplementalinformation if said supplemental information is received from saidconsumer.
 15. The method of claim 13, further comprising causing saidcomputer system to request supplemental information from said consumer,in response to a request from said consumer for a particularproduct/service.
 16. The method of claim 1, wherein said subjectiveproduct/service evaluation information includes information regardingeach product's or service's attributes and/or benefits.
 17. The methodof claim 1, further comprising causing said computer system to allowsaid consumer to add, via a computer, additional information regardingan available product/service, either previously existing in or newlyprovided to, said product/service profile.
 18. The method of claim 13,further comprising causing said computer system to allow said consumerto add, via a computer, additional information regarding an availableproduct/service, either previously existing or newly provided to, saidconsumer profile.